Sectors

The Week, 03 March 2019

Reformer of the Week

Andrew Haldenby, on his last day at Reform, for the enormous contribution he has made to achieving better public services and delivering value for money over the last eighteen years.

Quotes of the Week

“"Social mobility has stagnated over the last four years at virtually all stages from birth to work[...]Being born disadvantaged means that you will have to overcome a series of barriers to ensure that you and your children are not stuck in the same trap.”– Dame Martina Milburn, Chair, Social Mobility Commission

“Britain’s current social care arrangements are financially and politically unsustainable, as well as opaque and unfair.” – Damien Green MP

Good week for

Breaking the silence on social care

In the same week the social care green paper has been further delayed, Damien Green MP has called on the Government to move away from the current model and towards a scheme modelled on the State Pension. This would guarantee a basic level of provision, and then encourage people to pay more through insurance for extras like better food or larger rooms.

The commissioning debate

The Independent Health Providers Network found the NHS competitively tenders contracts worth less than 2 per cent of overall clinical commissioning expenditure, at the same time as NHS leaders say commissioners should have more direction over when to tender services.

Bad week for

Coursework

Education Secretary, Damian Hinds MP, has argued that “inherently stressful” exams build character and help young people prepare for adult life.

Modernising services

A report by the Public Account Committee has criticised the Home Office’s modernisation of the Disclosure and Barring Service for being seven years overdue, £229 million over-budget and having no long-term plan to secure improvements.

Reform’s Week

Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation at Reform, chaired a conference on AI in healthcare at Salford University.

Joshua Pritchard, Researcher at Reform, wrote an article for Care Talk, arguing that efforts to ensure personal budget holders are properly supported increases the chances of them receiving more effective and better value services.

Imogen Farhan, Researcher at Reform, spoke at the APM Project Management Conference on the benefits Smarter Working can bring to the civil service, such as improved productivity and collaboration, based on the findings of a Reform report published last year.

Rose Lasko-Skinner, Researcher at Reform, wrote a blog that argued training and skills for the public sector workforce are being overlooked in the policy debate on outsourcing.